This invention relates to the field of gaming or gambling, and, in particular, to gaming devices.
Gambling or gaming devices have been in use for decades and were originally introduced in the 19th century. A major advancement in technology of gaming devices occurred when microprocessors were introduced in the gaming or gambling field. They were divided into two major segments in their development. One being the mechanical spinning reels and the other being the use of “CRT” displays or animated displays of reels, cards, keno boards, and “21” games. The emergence of such microprocessor devices has opened a vast set of possibilities to gambling device designers. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,795, the first microprocessor slot machine is described.
Another major advancement used microprocessors and a software program to adjust the odds of achieving any particular combination or game outcome. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,419 describes a mechanical reel slot machine controlled by a microprocessor. The software program allowed for the control of the reels and the varying of odds of achieving any particular combination of symbols. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,451 describes a gambling device using mechanical reels but is controlled by a microprocessor.
Microprocessors along with the lowering prices of color monitors allowed the expansion of the second largest area of gambling devices. These devices, known as “Video Games” included video slots, 21, bingo, keno, and poker machines.
Development of use of microprocessors in the gaming or gambling fields can be divided into two major segments, first, in mechanical spinning reels and, second, in the use of CRTs, for example, in use of animated displays of reels, cards, keno boards, “21” games, and the like. The emergence of such microprocessor devices has opened a vast set of possibilities to gaming device designers. One such innovation has been to interconnect banks of machines, both locally and over broad geographic areas, with a small percentage of each wager being cumulatively added to a centralized, ever-growing, jackpot. One such arrangement is known as a multi-linked progressive jackpot. Another major advancement using microprocessors involved the use of software to adjust the odds of achieving any particular combination or game outcome.
In using microprocessors, a random number generator picks numbers representing stop positions, with each physical stop position represented by multiple software stop positions. This was the first use of the “Virtual Reel” type slot machine. This method allowed the standard 20-stop reel to be expanded up to, for example, 512 software stops. Thus, the size of the symbols used on the physical reel could remain the same size while increasing the number used on each reel. Before using microprocessors, when the number of stops on a reel increased, the symbol's physical size had to decrease because of limitations of the mechanical reel. A method of reel mapping permitted a single machine to act as a single machine, a “multiple stop” machine, or a virtual reel gambling device, thus saving on development costs. Stepper motors now replaced the mechanical reels that had been used for the past eight decades. This innovation allowed designers to have the reels spin in any direction, add reels inside of reels, and expand the number of symbols used on each reel.
Because virtual reel slot machines obscure the true probability of achieving certain combinations, players tend to choose slot machines according to the size of the jackpots offered without an appreciation of the true probability of hitting a large jackpot. For example, the odds of achieving a giant jackpot in one machine, where the jackpot may be, for example, in the tens of millions of dollars, may be very low. However, to the player, the odds do not seem to be any lower than that for obtaining any other symbol combination. In other words, in virtual reel slot machines, high jackpots may be offered which have a very low probability of being achieved, but the player is often essentially unaware of the true odds of the device.
In many locations, governmental regulations govern the minimum overall payouts and the cycle size for slot machines because the use of microprocessor technology has permitted the design of slot devices having virtual reels and bonus games, which deprive the player the knowledge of the true odds of a particular symbol appearing on the “win line” on each game. As indicated above, early mechanical slot machines had a finite number of symbols on each reel (usually 20 to 25) and the odds of each symbol appearing was relatively easily discernible.
Gaming devices generally generate revenue in accordance with the following equation:REVENUE=HOUSE EDGE×HOURS PLAYED×PLAYS PER HOUR
Of the above variables, two, Hours Played and Plays Per Hour, are directly controlled by the player, and are thus difficult for a casino to change. House Edge, is directly controlled by a casino but is nonetheless difficult to change for regulatory reasons. In addition, increasing the House Edge can affect other variables to actually decrease revenue, as is described below.
Players are primarily concerned with finding a gaming device with a low “House Edge,” also known as “hold percentage.” This is the average percentage of wagered money which is kept by the gaming device per game. Likewise, players are primarily concerned with finding a gaming device with a high “payout percentage.” The payout percentage is 100% minus the House Edge, which equals the average percentage of wagered money which is returned to a player per game. Low hold percentages (i.e., high payout percentages) are a significant factor in attracting players to one casino rather than another. Accordingly, many casinos advertise that they have gaming devices with very high payout percentages. Although a high payout percentage (low House Edge) may attract players, it also results in lower revenue. Casinos, of course, would prefer higher revenue, and may increase the House Edge to increase revenue. Paradoxically, increasing the House Edge does not always increase revenue. The House Edges of gaming devices are often displayed in publications or on the gaming device itself. Many players will avoid gaming devices that they believe to have low payout percentages, or high House Edges. Thus, if the House Edge is increased on certain gaming devices, the Hours Played or Plays Per Hour on those gaming devices may decrease, and revenues may likewise decrease.
In addition, when a casino wants to adjust the hold percentage of a slot machine, state and/or local regulations may require that the machine be removed from the casino floor, adjusted accordingly, then reactivated. Accordingly, some casinos may be reluctant to increase the House Edge of gaming devices in an attempt to increase revenues from those devices.
Increasing the Hours Played is difficult to achieve because a casino cannot easily modify player behavior. For example, to increase the Hours Played, casinos typically remove clocks from the view of players, make the seats and playing area more comfortable, and serve free drinks in an attempt to modify player behavior. Additionally, the gaming devices themselves have become increasingly more entertaining in order to entice the player to play longer. Such measures may increase the Hours Played to a certain extent, but do not necessarily increase the Hours Played significantly or at all. Increasing the Plays Per Hour (speed of game play) is likewise difficult. Efforts to increase this factor include providing a spin button, rather than a handle, on some slot machines, allowing the player to initiate each game quickly. In addition, some slot machines have faster stopping reels, which end each game more quickly. Furthermore, a group of gaming machines may be in communication over a network, allowing each of a group of players to influence the movement of an object in a race, such as a horse race or car race. Such a racing game may make some players play faster than they would have. However, other players view such a game as annoyingly complicated and do not participate.
Casinos may also sponsor tournaments, in which the first player to win a jackpot or reach a certain score wins a prize. Casinos may also organize player clubs, in which players receive points for the number of plays or amounts wagered. Such points can be redeemed for goods and services once the player has reached a certain threshold. Casinos may also offer players the chance to win a “progressive jackpot”, which increases over time and is typically available to all players in a casino playing slot machines. When a progressive jackpot reaches a large dollar amount, players typically play rapidly in an attempt to win that jackpot. Since each player knows that all other players have a chance to win, they play faster in an attempt to increase their chances of winning the jackpot. However, other players are not attracted by such casino promotions, and their playing behavior is thus unaffected by the promotions.
In summary, it would be advantageous to increase a player's attraction to a gaming device.
One concept which has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is the concept of bonus prizes or games that are awarded in conjunction with a basic game. The bonus game may comprise a specific award in credits or cash or any type of bonus game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome of the basic game. For example, the basic game may be a reel-type slot machine and the bonus game may be a simulated reel-type slot machine implemented on a display. The bonus game is entered upon the appearance of a special symbol combination on the reels of the slot machine in the basic game. For example, in the bonus game, the probability of winning combinations appearing on the reels, or the “hit rate,” may be much greater than that of the basic game. Such a bonus game produces a significantly higher level of player excitement than the basic game because it provides a greater expectation of winning than the basic game and is accompanied with more attractive or unusual video displays and/or audio.
Because the bonus game concept offers tremendous advantages in player appeal and excitement relative to other known games, and because such games are attractive to both players and operators, there is a continuing need to develop new types of bonus games to satisfy the demands of players and operators. Preferably, such new bonus games will maintain the level of player excitement offered by bonus games heretofore known in the art. The present invention is directed to satisfying these needs.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.